Month: June 2009

And a Man sat alone, drenched deep in sadness. And all the animals drew near to him and said, “We do not like to see you so sad. Ask us for whatever you wish and you shall have it.” The Man said, “I want to have good sight.” The vulture replied, “You shall have mine.” The Man said, “I want to be strong.” The jaguar said, “You shall be strong like me.” Then the Man said, “I long to know the secrets of the earth.” The serpent replied, “I will show them to you.” And so it went with all the animals. And when the Man had all the gifts that they could give, he left. Then the owl said to the other animals, “Now the Man knows much, he’ll be able to do many things. Suddenly I am afraid.” The deer said, “The Man has all that he needs. Now his sadness will stop.” But the owl replied, “No. I saw a hole in the Man, deep like a hunger he will never fill. It is what makes him sad and what makes him want. He will go on taking and taking, until one day the World will say, ‘I am no more and I have nothing left to give.'”

Oswald Cabal: Rest enough for the individual man – too much, and too soon – and we call it death. But for Man, no rest and no ending. He must go on, conquest beyond conquest. First this little planet with its winds and ways, and then all the laws of mind and matter that restrain him. Then the planets about him and at last out across immensity to the stars. And when he has conquered all the deeps of space and all the mysteries of time, still he will be beginning.

After the man told his wife he’d quitted smoking, he was given a bagful of gold by the God of Fortune, shot by a punkish Cupid (which sent him flying in elation, Matrix-style), and presented two healthy (but disturbingly hyperactive) children by Santa. The video ended with him declaring, emotion-charged: “Money, love, family, health! How good it feels to win!”

Excuse me?

It’s basically saying: “Don’t take us seriously.”

This is just… wrong.

Instead of wasting money on childish things like this, why not put scary pictures of nicotine-infested lung on cigarette packages? That will make people think twice before lighting another one. Nothing deters like fear.

(I posted this a while ago but feel I could elaborate a bit. So I wrote some more and re-posted it here.)

This fountain in Tung Chung is popular with photographers.

Kids love to play here, and they don’t care that the water is dirty. I’ve even seen one trying to drink the water. Thankfully his mother stopped him just in time.

But getting sick should be the least of their worries. The water is powerful. One popular trick is to place a paper cup on a blowhole and watch the water propel it skywards. Now imagine what the force could do to certain vulnerable body parts. A few years ago, a boy injured his testicles while playing in a similar fountain.

Neither is it safe for the photographers. Their expensive equipment could easily get splashed at this distance.

I learned this the hard way last year. I got my camera wetted while snapping this:

My friend and I came here for the… you’re right, Yorkshire pudding. Although an iconic British dish, Yorkshire pudding is hard to find in Hong Kong. I think it tastes a bit like the Chinese youtiao, only more fluffy.

If you go there, try the Chicken Bonnie Prince Charlie (a large Yorkshire pudding filled with chicken stew cooked in Drambuie), Sherry Trifle and Rhubarb Crumble. I wouldn’t recommend the Steak and Kidney pie – Chippy down the hill has much better pies at half the price tag.